Smoking wolf in cartoon dodges Russian 'bad conduct' media law

A chain-smoking wolf who kicks over trash cans while swilling beer in a striped navy shirt delighted Russians at the weekend by sneaking past the censor and assuming his place among the morning cartoons.

Millions of Russian children woke up on Saturday to the first official day of school and the knowledge that a new media law meant to protect them from bad conduct had just took effect.

Any show with the type of behaviour displayed by the wolf in question in Nu, Pogodi! ( You Just Wait!) - an iconic set of nine-minute cartoons that have defined childhoods since Soviet ages - would have to wait until 11pm.

The penalty would have been especially severe in the wolf's case: his habits qualified him for the strongest of the five possible ratings - an 18+.

The younger-age television guidance is only advisory to parents and also applies to other media such as Russian websites and even radio stations.

Tabloids and magazines fall under the category because of their advertising content and photographs while films are required to carry tags that should theoretically only let six-year-olds see violence in which good trumps evil.

And even Winnie the Pooh faced potential punishment because he stole honey from bees without remorse.